I am pleased to share the exciting news that Priscilla Chan, MD, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, have committed $600 million to establish the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, a venture designed to create synergy among the UCSF, Stanford University, and UC Berkeley research enterprises, with the goal of advancing discovery in the health sciences.

An independent non-profit entity, Biohub will be based at 499 Illinois Street, adjacent to the UCSF Mission Bay campus, and will be co-directed by Joe DeRisi, PhD, UCSF professor and chair of biochemistry and biophysics, and Stanford’s Steve Quake, DPhil, professor of bioengineering and of applied physics.

Biohub is the first philanthropic science investment made by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and is an extraordinary opportunity to capitalize on our region’s unparalleled strength in technological and biomedical innovation in the service of improving health locally and worldwide.

It is just one part of an emphasis on science being launched by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. That overall program will be led by Cori Bargmann, PhD, the Torsten N. Wiesel Professor, head of the Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at The Rockefeller University.

One of the world’s leading neuroscientists, Cori was a member of our faculty from 1991 to 2004, and rose to the position of vice chair of the Department of Anatomy. In her new position, she will work out of 499 Illinois Street, so her new role represents a homecoming of sorts, and I know you will join me in welcoming her back to San...

Please join me at my third State of the University Address on Tuesday, October 4, 2016, from 12 noon to 1 p.m. on Parnassus in Cole Hall. I will provide an overview of UCSF’s new economic impact report and highlight some of our major accomplishments over the past year.

The theme of my address is “Invested in Our Community,” and I will present specific examples of the work that UCSF is doing within our communities that touch upon each of the university’s four priority areas: equity/inclusion, transformative partnerships, education and learning, and precision medicine.

You can read more about the event and RSVP through the UCSF events calendar. Lunch will be served immediately following the address.

UCSF faculty, staff, students, and trainees will soon join millions of Americans across the country and fulfill their civic responsibility by casting ballots on a range of issues and voting for candidates seeking public office at the local, state, and national levels. I encourage all of you to participate in the electoral process. It is a privilege and a right that serves as the foundation for the laws that govern our nation.

The decisions made on Tuesday, November 8, will be of great importance to all Americans. More information about the November election and about registering to vote can be found on the California Secretary of State’s website at http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections.

I also want to take this opportunity to remind the campus community that there are legal restrictions on University of California involvement in political campaign activities based on the status of the University as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization and as a state entity. Specifically, the University may not endorse/oppose (or contribute to) political candidates, nor may University resources (including University-paid time or equipment) be used for campaign purposes in connection with ballot propositions.

I also want to emphasize that the University does not restrict any member of our community – student, academic appointee, staff employee – from exercising his or her right to engage in personal political activity. However, no member of the University community may use University facilities or resources (including time on the job) for political purposes, except as specifically permitted by...

I am pleased to share the exciting news that Bruce Alberts, PhD, UCSF Chancellor’s Leadership Chair in Biochemistry and Biophysics for Science and Education, has received the 2016 Lasker~Koshland Award for Special Achievement in Medical Science. One of the highest honors in biomedicine, this award is given every two years by the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation.

Bruce’s career spans fifty years and is one of the most esteemed in modern biology. A member of our faculty since 1976, he is recognized not only for his seminal scientific discoveries on DNA replication, but for the leadership positions he has held at every level in biomedical science, including as chair of the UCSF Department Biochemistry for more than five years, as the editor-in-chief of Science, and, during a two six-year term, as president of the National Academy of Sciences.

Bruce was appointed as a United States Science Envoy in 2009, and was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Barack Obama in 2014.

In addition to his scientific contributions, Bruce has been an indefatigable champion for science and science education. In 1987, he cofounded the UCSF Science & Health Education Partnership (SEP), recognized nationally and internationally as a model partnership between scientists and teachers. Most recently, in 2014, he co-founded Rescuing Biomedical Research (RBR), an alliance of leading researchers that is formulating strategies to reform scientific training and funding and ensure the integrity of research.